The Movie That Changed Us All (LydelLourtneyRyourtney Fanfiction)
by LyournteyLover53
Summary: When Rydel Lynch, Courtney Eaton, and Laura Marano all are chosen to star in the same movie, the best friend trio will face a whole new set of challenges in working together. Read as the trio faces hate, sexism, image controversies, and try to live their lives as best friends on and off screen.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1: We Got In!

COURTNEY

The phone rings. I pick it up. I listen and respond as necessary. I throw the phone across the room. It bounces onto the couch as I scream. If the neighbours actually cared about my well-being, they would have all been running to the door right about now. But, they didn't care, so they let my extreme joy and excitement come out in high-pitched screams. Thankfully, my friend cared what was going on. She came rushing down the stairs to ask me what was going on. Luckily for her, nothing bad was going on! She said she thought I was being murdered or something the way I screamed. But, I filled her in on what was actually going on. I couldn't believe it! They had actually given me the job! Did they not see the line of eligible actresses, probably much better than myself standing there? And yet they picked me. I was going to star in their next movie. I was going to be in yet another movie! I would get to experience the joys of meeting new people, shooting so many different types of scenes, advertising the movie, going on talk shows, and getting to spend that time with what would hopefully be an unforgettable cast! Thoughts just kept running through my head. They kept drawing me back to those movies that I had done already. This movie was going to be so different than all the other movies I had done. This was my first time starring, or even being in, a romantic comedy. I couldn't wait to see those billboards and commercials and what not. "Queens of the City...starring Courtney Eaton". I was ecstatic to say the least.

LAURA

I can't even remember what I was doing at the time. I just remember being way too excited for my own good. I know I was with Vanessa and Maia and Mom when it happened. We were watching Netflix at my place. I remember we had invited Maia over just for the fun of it, No...Mom and Nessa invited Maia over to distract me from waiting for the call. Of course, that was a bad day for Maia to come and distract me because that was the day they actually called. Even when Maia was over, I remember sprinting to the phone and picking it up in anticipation every time the phone rang. I had been doing that for maybe six days now and Mom and Vanessa were sick of it, so bringing over Maia was apparently their solution. None the less, the call came that day and as usual I rushed to the phone the minute it started ringing and picked it up. When I heard the news, I actually almost started crying. Of course, no one could tell they were happy tears, but I kept balling! I was so excited!

"Is everything alright?" I remember Mom asking.

"Everything's amazing!" I remember replying as I skipped back into the living room.

"Why? What happened?" Maia had asked.

"They offered me a part in that new movie!"

"No way! You're kidding!" Maia screamed.

I shook my head. I was completely serious. I was stoked. I was gonna be a queen of the city!

RYDEL

 _Ring Ring._ I can't hear the phone. Living with four boys makes it that way.

 _Ring Ring._ There it goes again. I hear the faint noise stop and Rocky's voice replaces the ringing.

"RYDEL! IT'S FOR YOU!" He yells over the sound of Ross and Ellington screaming at their video game.

"Hello?" I answer

"Hi, is this Rydel Lynch?"

"Yes, it is."

"Hi Rydel, this is Anthony Kentwood. I'm producing the new Paramount Pictures film, Queens of the City, that you auditioned for. I'd like to offer you a role."

"Seriously?" I ask, overjoyed at the thought.

"Yes, we thought you would do very well in the role of Emilia Blackwell".

"Wow...thank you so much!"

"Would you like the role?"

"Oh no, of course! That would be amazing! Thank you!"

"Wonderful! We're really looking forward to working with you, Rydel."

"You too!"

"We'll be having our first table read on May 24."

"That's like next week!"

"Yes, it is. Will we see you there?"

"Oh ya, definitely!"

"Alright! Lovely! We'll see you next week then."

"Absolutely! Have a great day!"

"You as well, Rydel."

He hangs up. I'm still shaking a little from that. I can't even move. My body is too busy processing what happened. When I can finally move, I grab a tall glass of water and sit down on a chair behind our island. I don't even see Ellington walk into the kitchen. I'm in my own world.

"EARTH TO RYDEL!" I hear all of a sudden. I snap out of my trance long enough to notice my boyfriend standing in front of me.

"Who was that? What's going on?" He asks with an equal amount of curiosity and concern.

"Oh that?" I reply, "that was the producer from the movie I auditioned for. They wanted to give me a role in that movie."

"Rydel, that's amazing!" He smiles which causes me to smile along with him. He runs around the island and wraps me in an enormous hug.

"Congrats, babe" he whispers, "You deserve this."

I just can't wipe the smile off my face as Ross saunters into the kitchen to get some food. Apparently, he notices the huge smile plastered across my face.

"How come you're so happy?" He asks.

"Nothing." I reply.

"Nothing?" Ellington chimes in, slightly offended by my last statement, "She got into that movie that she auditioned for."

"Are you serious?" Ross smiles, "Who are you starring with?"

"I'm not sure yet," I reply, "but I hope they're amazing people!"

"I'm sure they will be," Ellington says.

"Well congrats, Dell!" Ross grins as he and Ellington leave again with their food, back to playing their video game. I am alone again. Alone to be overjoyed, I'm going to be a movie star!


	2. Chapter 2: You're In Too?

CHAPTER 2: You're In Too?

LAURA

"So u excited?" Maia asked, attempting to break the nervous silence.

"Ya," I replied.

"Nervous?" She chimed in, clearly reading the expression on my face.

I let out a heavy sigh.

"Ya."

"Don't worry," Maia smiled, "you're gonna do great!"

"Thanks, Maia," I grinned, feeling slightly encouraged by her statement. There was another awkward pause as I looked down at the bag I was carrying. The floral bag, almost resembling a knapsack, contained all of what I thought would be essential for the table read. Water, snacks, hairbrush, compact mirror, a binder to put my script in when I get it, perfume, lip gloss, you know all the stuff that guys think girls carry around everywhere. When rummaging through my bag didn't help with my nerves, I sat up again and leaned back on the passenger and tried just watching the LA scenery through the window. That didn't work.

"Laur, you don't have to be nervous," Maia laughed, once again breaking the silence.

"K, I know that, Maia, but I am nervous! What if I get an awful cast? What if the director or producers hate me? What if I get fired? What if…"

"Whoa! Slow down, babe!" Maia chuckled, "You don't have to be nervous about all this! You're gonna do great, you're gonna have a great cast, and the directors and producers are gonna love you, 'cause who doesn't love someone like you?"

I sighed. I knew she was right, but I just couldn't stop myself from worrying about all the worst possible outcomes.

"Thanks, Maia, I was finally able to say, "I love you."

"I love you too," Maia smiled.

From there, Maia put on some Beyoncé and that was enough to calm my nerves for a while as Maia and I were jamming and dancing and singing along to every single track. Finally, Maia pulled into the parking lot of the building where I was going to have my first table read. However, neither Maia or I stopped jamming to "Formation". We both broke out in uncontrollable laughter as the song came to an end. Then, I saw it. We were here. I stopped laughing immediately, and Maia ceased soon after to see what I was looking at.

"Laura," she smiled, "just breathe"

She quickly grabbed me by the shoulders as I turned my whole body to face her.

"Inhale," she instructed. I did as she said.

"Exhale." We kept doing this for maybe three minutes.

"Are you good now?" Maia asked.

"Ya, I think so," I smiled. I quickly slid out of the car as I heard Maia's door open and close on the other side of the vehicle. Maia took my hand as we walked up to the door.

"You ready?" Maia asked with her hand on the door.

I breathed in and out one last time.

"Ya," I smiled.

"Alright then," she grinned, "let's go!"

COURTNEY

The problem with this scenario was that I had to be at a place a half hour drive from here and I didn't have a car. I honestly didn't know who to call. Who that I knew had a car? My mom still had our family car back in Australia, all my friends were busy and needed their car. I was about to call Anthony and tell him that I couldn't make it to the table read today when I heard a honking. Sure enough, I looked out the window, and there was my ex-boyfriend/best friend sitting there in his car, waiting for me. I quickly smiled and waved at him through the window as I rushed into the kitchen to grab a protein shake. I slipped on a pair of flats that matched my skirt and bolted outside. I quickly slid into the passenger seat and slammed the door

behind me.

"Morning," he laughed.

"Morning," I grinned, slightly out of breath.

"You excited for today?" He asked trying to start a conversation.

"Of course!" I smiled as I struggled to open my protein shake.

"Here. You need help with that?" He chuckled, as he watched me struggle to open the bottle.

"Thank you!" I laughed.

"Hey, you looked like you have a bit of rough time there."

I laughed a little as he handed the now opened shake back to me. I took a quick swig before once again remembering that he picked me up without knowing I had to be somewhere.

"Hey, how did you that I needed to be picked up?" I inquired.

"We were texting last night and you said you had to be at this one place but you didn't have a ride and since I was going to that end of town anyway.."

"I did? Text you I mean. I don't remember that…" I quickly pulled out my phones and went to my messages. I tapped on the conversation labelled "Ross" and went through the messages.

"Why was I texting you at 2 am?" I laughed.

"I dunno! You tell me," Ross chuckled.

We kept driving for a half hour filled with chatting, listening to every type of music Ross had in his car, and very little time for me to actually stop and process what was happening.

"Alright, we're here!" Ross smiled. I quickly hopped out of the car as Ross grinned from inside the vehicle.

"Have a good day, Court!"

"I will! You too!"

"Text me if you need a ride home."

"Yup!" I grinned as I headed towards the front of the building. I swung open the door to reveal a huge front entrance with red carpets, leather waiting chairs, and a solid oak desk. I shyly made my way up to the desk as the woman there smiled.

"You're Courtney Eaton, correct?" the woman grinned.

"Yes, that's me," I smiled.

"Follow me." She led me down long hallways with spotless and bright red walls and unbelievably clean red carpets. Each wall was imprinted with three, sometimes four doors, each containing a realm of actors and actresses going through scripts for maybe the first maybe the twelfth time. Finally, after walking for what seemed like forever, she motioned to a white door that was labelled "Queens of the City." A huge smile grew across my face. This was it. I opened the door and screamed. Thankfully, this time people could tell it was a joyful scream.

LAURA

I had been led to the room where we had our table read as Maia left to go to her set. I was the first one there, which was highly unusual for me. The producers were there and they all introduced themselves. I was polite to them, but I was more excited to meet my cast. I decided to circle around the table and read the name plates of everyone who was scheduled to be at this table read. The list just kept getting more and more interesting as I circled the table. Calum Worthy (one of my old friends), Peyton Meyer, Ansel Elgort, Ryan Gosling, wow this was a handsome group! Then I got to the name plates near mine, the girls. Chloe Grace Moretz, Sabrina Carpenter, Angeline Appel, then I got to the next name plate.

"Courtney". That was all I read I smiled and read the one next to it that read "Laura Marano". I quickly looked back at the Courtney nameplate to make sure we were thinking of the same Courtney. Sure enough, we were.

"Courtney Eaton," the nameplate read.

"Courtney's in this movie too?" I squealed. I continued to read the nameplates and as I got to the one on the other side of mine, another squeal escaped me.

"Rydel Lynch," this one said. NO WAY! I was going to be starring in a movie with two of my best friends! Suddenly, the door opened. There was Courtney Eaton standing in the doorway. As soon as she saw me she couldn't help but squeal.

"Surprise!" I laughed.

"What-What-What are you doing here?" Courtney chuckled as she came over to wrap me in those amazing types of hugs that only Courtney was capable of giving.

"I'm in this movie too!"

"You're kidding!"

"Nope." Courtney and I both squealed as we continued to wrapped in each other's arms.

"This is gonna be the best movie ever!" I giggled. Courtney frantically nodded in agreement. We kept talking and hugging and squealing and laughing and just being overall very amazed at the situation when the door opened again, this time revealing a tall blonde. Courtney and I both shreaked in excitement.

RYDEL

"Delly!" Courtney shreaked as I walked into the room where we were having our table read. I froze and it took a lot to keep my jaw from dropping.

"Hey!" I laughed in both excitement in confusion as I wrapped my one free hand around my best friend's waist. Laura followed slightly more causally as she leaned in for a quick hug, seeing that my hands were full.

"You guys are in this movie, too?" I asked.

"Ya!" Laura laughed.

"Why didn't you tell us that we were all starring together?" I asked the producers, who thus far had stood in the corner and watched us.

"Well, when we called you, we didn't know you ladies would all be starring together," Anthony replied.

"Well thanks for casting them too!" I smiled. Anthony gave me a bit of a confused look as I turned back to my girls.

"I can't believe I'm going to star in a movie with my best friends!" I squealed. Courtney, being the overly excited one in this situation, pulled both Laura and I into a huge group hug. We kept talking and trying to comprehend how this happened as we waited for the last two people in the cast to show up. I couldn't believe it! Not only do I get to be a queen of the city l, but my best friends get to be queens of the city with me!

COURTNEY

"Alright everyone, if you want to take a seat," our producer began. Before he could finish, the entire cast was sitting down.

"So, usually we start with introduction here," the producer explained, "so I'm Anthony Kentwood and I am producing and directing this movie. I looked over at Laura and Rydel who both had board smiles pasted on their faces.

"Just say who you are and who you are playing," Anthony instructed. He pointed at a young man that I recognize from somewhere as the man grinned.

"So, I'm Peyton Meyer and I'm playing Reed Hanover." A few people grinned at Peyton as the next person began to speak. I recognized the voice almost immediately.

"Hey, I'm Calum Worthy and I'm gonna be playing Dan Bush."

"I'm Ansel Elgort and I'm playing Josh Riders."

"I'm Ryan Gosling and I'm playing Jacob Hanover."

"I'm Chloe Grace Moretz and I play Gracie Blackwell."

"Sabrina Carpenter and I'm gonna be playing Lizzh Gray."

"Angeline Appel and I'm playing Alisha Nixon."

Then they got to me. I took a deep breath.

"Hey, I'm Courtney Eaton and I'm playing Charlotte Hamilton."

I quickly glanced over at Laura and we both flashed smiles at each other.

"I'm Laura Marano. I'm playing Luna Johnson."

Finally, we all looked over at Rydel as she smiled a bit.

"I'm Rydel Lynch and I'm playing Emilia Blackwell."

Anthony grinned a little.

"Alright, wonderful! Let's read then!" He began explaining a little bit of the setting of the story as my eyes scanned the people at the table. There were so many amazing people here! How did I get so lucky? We kept reading and I wasn't zoned out long enough to miss any of my lines, thankfully. That would have been embarrassing. We continued to read, with some of the actors really getting into their characters (cough, Laura, cough). We were unfortunately done after about an hour and a half.

"Hey," Laura grinned, coming up to where Rydel and I were talking, "you wanna grab lunch or something? I'm starving!"

"Me too," I laughed.

"Let's go then!" Laura chuckled.

"Yesss food!" Rydel squealed. We all laughed as we headed for Rydel's car. I quickly slid into the front seat and found Ross in my messages.

"Hey R," I typed, "thanks but I don't need a ride home today. I hope you had a great day, cuz I sure did! Love, C"


	3. Chapter 3: And Now We Rehearse

CHAPTER 3: And Now We Rehearse

RYDEL

I don't know how something as simple as having lunch with my costar best friends made me that much more excited for the movie, but it did. Over lunch, Laur, Court, and I all had a never-ending supply of ideas when it came to playing Charlotte, Luna, and Emilia. We couldn't wait to come in the next day and start rehearsing! I think it's safe to say that I was pumped even in just the process of rehearsals. Then we would get to rehearse on set, and actually film and I just couldn't comprehend how I kept getting so lucky!

The next day came soon enough and I knew exactly what was happening! First day of rehearsals, yes! I quickly threw on some semi-good looking clothes and rushed through my beauty routine. By the time I was finished, which felt like a lot longer than it needed to be, I basically tripped down the stairs from running too fast. Rocky was at the bottom of the stairs, chuckling at my failed attempt to go down a flight of stairs. I gave him a quick evil eye, implying that only I was allowed to laugh at my failures. Classic Rocky, though, he didn't clue in.

"Stop," I laughed, slapping him in the chest. He was at a loss for breath a minute, but I bolted into the kitchen before he could get his revenge. I found some eggs in the fridge and decided to fry them up.

"Does anyone want an egg?" I asked with my back facing the boys.

"Sure," a voice said. I whipped around and squealed seeing Rocky standing in front of me. He chuckled a little bit and sat down.

"Seriously, though," he grinned "make me up some of that!" I smiled a bit. I quickly fried myself, Rocky, and Ellington up an egg and shoved mine down before grabbing a bottle of water and Ellington's keys and rushing out.

"Hold up!" Ellington laughed, meeting me at the door. I sighed and smiled a little bit before remembering I had to be places.

"Babe, I seriously have to go," I told him.

"Alright, let's go then," he smiled, grabbing his keys from my hands. Car rides with Ellington were always quite interesting as we talked, laughed, jammed, and I would occasionally remind him how to drive so he wouldn't kill us. Of course, it didn't help his driving skills that I was vlogging today, so he and I were both mega distracted. We almost got into three crashes, I think. No more vlogging in the car I guess.

Finally, after multiple near-death encounters, lots of laughs, and tons of vlog footage, Ellington pulled into the parking lot of our rehearsal space.

"Have a good day," he smiled, kissing my cheek.

"I will!" I smiled, as I rushed inside. I tried to walk casually through the doors and ask for the place where "Queens of the City" would be rehearsing.

"Make a left, second door on your right," the person at the desk said dryly, clearly hating her job. I smiled at the woman and practically bolted to our room. I opened the room to a huge open room with little mock set pieces, a few props, our producers, and most of the cast. Courtney and Laura were sitting on the chairs in the corner of the stage, just talking and laughing. I ran up to my girls in excitement, and seeing that there was no place else to sit, I took a seat on Courtney.

"Oh my gosh," she chuckled. Laura smiled a little as well trying to contain her laughter.

"Morning ladies," I smiled.

"Morning! You excited for today?" Courtney laughed.

"Yes!" I chuckled, "of course!"

"Me too," Laura said forcing a weak grin on her face. Court and I both immediately noticed something was up and both started drilling Laura about it.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Ya," Laura answered simply.

"Laur, are you sure you're okay?" Courtney inquired.

"Ya, guys I'm fine," Laura grinned. I quickly pulled Courtney aside.

"She's not okay," I told Court.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious!" Court whispered harshly. I rolled my eyes a little.

"We need to fix this," I demanded.

"Ya I know, but how?" Courtney asked very audibly. Suddenly, Laura was in our conversation circle, but not noticing her, Court and I kept planning.

"We need to just keep her mind off of whatever's bothering her," I suggested.

"Guys!" Laura snapped, as Courtney and I jumped suddenly realizing her presence in this conversation.

"I'm fine! I don't need you guys doing this!" She took a deep breath, "Thank you for caring but I'm fine." She smiled. She wasn't fine. I knew it, she knew it, Court knew it. I was going to get to the bottom of this.

Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to get to the bottom of this issue. We had to rehearse! I don't think it would be possible for me to be any more excited than I already was. The producers called us to the little mock stage thing they had to talk to us a little bit about how they rehearsed. I swear it felt like he went on and on and the minutes couldn't have possibly went any slower. However, I just sat there, pretending to be listening and interested in what they had to say, but my mind was somewhere else. I kept thinking about what our rehearsals would be like, how much better friends I'd become with the girls, how close I'd get with the cast...I was just stoked! Finally, Courtney shook me a little and I snapped out of the realm of my thoughts only to realize that our producer was finally done talking. Yes! The rehearsals begin!

"You okay?" Courtney asked, as we both took our places backstage.

"Ya, I'm fine," I grinned. I quickly glanced around and leaned in and whispered to Courtney:

"That guy just bores the daylights outta me." Courtney smiled and chuckled a bit.

"Same Rydel!" she laughed. We both laughed apparently loud enough that we missed the producers telling us where Charlotte, Luna, and Emilia were supposed to enter. Classic…

Anyways, rehearsals flew by! I loved every minute of getting to do what I love with the people love, but time flies and I hate that!

"So," Courtney grinned, walking up to Laura and I.

"So what?" Laura smiled, trying to contain a slight amount of laughter. I quickly glanced over at Courtney as she winked at me. I couldn't help but laugh a bit.

"Food?" I asked Laura.

"Um yes!" Laura laughed.

"C'mon then!" Courtney squealed. We all dashed to Laura's car as I beat Courtney to shotgun.

"Awe I wanted to sit up there!" Courtney whined as she slid into the back seat.

"Haha, beat you here!" I said, intentionally taunting her.

"But," she paused trying to think of a good excuse.

"I have long legs…" she laughed.

"Sucks to be you!" I chuckled as Laura finally joined us.

"Woah, Court's legs fit in the back seat?" Laura teased.

"No they don't," Courtney laughed. I smiled at my best friend in the back seat giving her the look implying that it sucks to be her because I'm not moving.

"Hey Delly, can you do me a favour?" Laura asked, tossing her phone on my lap.

"Ya sure," I grinned, slightly confused that Laura was actually letting me touch her precious flip phone.

"Can you call Maia and see if she wants to come and grab lunch with us?"

"Why don't you just text her?" Court asked, also confused. I held up the flip phone high enough for her to see it and she laughed a bit.

"You ever planning on getting a new phone?" Courtney asked.

"Nah this one works fine," Laura grinned nonchalantly. I quickly found Maia's number in the contacts and called it. Honestly, I was surprised Laura's phone even held contacts because of its age but I wasn't complaining. The phone kept ringing... and ringing... and ringing…

"Hello?" The Australian voice answered.

"Hey Maia, it's Rydel."

"Oh hey Delly! How's it going?"

"Really good, you?"

"Pretty good actually! Anyways, is there a reason you called?"

"Oh ya I guess there was!" I could hear Maia laughing a bit through the phone. I continued:

"So Laura, Courtney, and I are going out for lunch and we were wondering if you wanted to join us."

"Ya sure sounds like fun!"

"K, sweet, we'll pick you up in 10"

"Cool, see you then!"

"Bye, Maia"

"Bye Dell!" I waited for Maia to hang up before hanging up myself and gave the phone back to Laura.

"Ya?" Laura asked.

"Ya" I smiled. Courtney let a little squeal out in the backseat as we all broke out into a fit of laughter,

"Ooh can I vlog about this lunch date?" I asked, suddenly having a wave of ideas.

"Sure! That's actually a really cool idea!" Laura smiled. I quickly pulled out my phone and started rolling the video. You would never believe how long it takes to film a good intro with your two best friends! It literally took us 5 minutes to get a good intro and Laura wouldn't leave the parking lot until we got a good take. Finally, after like 7 minutes, we got a good take and we were off to pick up Maia.

I honestly didn't know which was better, car rides with Ellington or car rides with Court and Laura. There's perks to both, I suppose. Like for one, Laura knows how to drive in ways that won't kill us. But, Ellington is better with directions. We were driving to a set 5 minutes away from our own, and yet Laura managed to get lost 3 times. THREE TIMES! Anyways, when we finally got to set, about 5 minutes late too, Maia slid in the backseat not even waiting for her to get out and find her.

"Hey friends!" Maia smiled as she took her seat beside Courtney, who was still annoyed that she had to sit in the backseat.

"Hey Maia," I smiled, turning around to see my friend.

"Hey Maia," Courtney chimed in.

"Hey, how are you ladies doing today?" Maia asked.

"Just fantastic!" I laughed.

"Great, except that I'm squished back here," Courtney complained. Maia and I both chuckled feeling little sympathy for Courtney. She'd survive.

"Hey Laur," Maia smiled, putting her hand on Laura's shoulder. I saw Laura bite her lower lip a little and I looked over at her in slight confusion.

"Hey Maia," she smiled. What just happened? Not the time, I guess. I may never know.

So I lied. Laura is capable of almost killing us too. For whatever reason, she was super distracted and almost got us into a crash. She ended up letting Courtney drive us the last 10 minutes to the little diner that we were headed for. Needless to say that Courtney was stoked to get out of the back, but I was worried about Laura. Again, now wasn't the time to be asking this, so I just let it go. I needed to know though. What's going on with Laura? I may never know.


End file.
